After the Cure

by Deirdre Gould

Nella didn't get very far in explaining the break in at Dr. Carton's lab before Sevita knocked on her door.

  "Thank God," she said, when Nella answered the door, "I was afraid you'd panicked and left without me. Have you told Frank yet?"

  "I was just doing that," Nella replied, "But maybe you'd better finish, you can answer his questions better than I can."

  Nella tuned most of what Sevita said out, having heard it before. Something about the whole mess seemed off, almost predictable, like a trap. What Nella couldn't decide was who the trap was for. To know that, she thought, she'd have to know who set it in the first place. She had to find Dr. Schneider and she had to do it without filling the trap.

  There were people that would want Sevita silenced, that was easy to see. The reporter practically ran the news channel, and was given free rein to air the stories when and how she wanted. She was dangerous and powerful.

  Frank was the only defender and voice of the man most people blamed for the Plague. Dr. Pazzo was the supreme architect behind the annihilation of the human race, according to popular opinion. And Frank was trying to keep him safe from the people's vengeance. Even the man representing the co-defendant had publicly humiliated him. Nella shivered, wondering how he managed to get home every night without being shot. Then she remembered that the trial hadn't even started yet and most of the population didn't know who he was. Yes, there were people that would like Frank out of the way.

  That left herself. As far as she knew, she hadn't made any personal enemies- at least, not ones that would really want her gone. Most of the public didn't know who she was, wouldn't know who she was even after the trial. And the occasional person that did, wouldn't have cared. She was just the court appointed psychiatrist. No more partial or important than the bailiff or stenographer. She was just part of the machinery. And not even working machinery. She was a prop to make the court look as if it ran with some degree of fairness and impartiality. Just part of the fairy tale that the world told itself while sharpening its knives. No one would miss her if she was suddenly not a part of it anymore. So it had to be her that went. She had to spring the trap before Frank or Sevita could. She decided this while they were still talking, still trying to devise a plan.

  "Look," she said, breaking in, "I'm the only one that can go. It's no use arguing, we all know that I have to be the one. If you can figure out how to cover that distance between one court session and the next without alerting anyone, you let me know. Until then, you're just going to have to accept that I'm the one that has to do this."

  "No way," said Sevita, "the area is still crawling with Infected. And Looters. None of us should go alone."

  "It's time to call the military government Nella. We can't do this by ourselves anymore," said Frank.

  "No," said Nella, "we can't tell anyone until we're sure this thing has been destroyed. What if the military government wanted to keep it as a weapon? Or some hot shot who didn't know how to handle it correctly found out about it and went after it without informing his superiors? Or just some greedy Looter who wanted to cash in by holding the world hostage? The more people that know about this, the closer we are to the disease being released."

  "We can't do anything until after court on Monday, regardless of what we decide. We all have to be there for the first session. We'll just have to think of an alternate plan before then." Sevita looked at Frank with some significance. Nella was too distracted to pay much attention. Frank smiled and squeezed Nella's knee.

  "We said we weren't going to discuss it until then," he said, "I think that's a good plan."

  "Okay," said Sevita, standing up from her seat, "I'm just glad you didn't take off without telling me Nella."

  Nella didn't promise anything, though she knew that's what both Sevita and Frank wanted.

  "It's not that I think you aren't capable or that I'll be any better at this. I just care about you Nella, and I think we should go together." Sevita smiled and Nella hugged her.

  "I know. I just don't see a way around it."

  "Just think about it until after court. I will too. We'll figure something out."

  Frank was strangely silent and it made Nella nervous. What was he waiting to say?

  "Well," said Sevita, "I guess I'd better go then. Before Chris thinks I ran off after you. I'll see you both on Monday morning."

  After Sevita had gone, Nella expected Frank to continue trying to persuade her to get the military involved, but he didn't. He just started putting groceries away.

  "Is this your way of fighting with me?" she asked after a moment. Frank laughed.

  "Why would I fight with you? You're right, we have to find Dr. Schneider no matter what. And if we start a panic by letting the authorities know, or worse, as you've said, nothing good will happen. So it's up to us. Us, Nella, not you. You think you'll wear me down, but you won't. I said you weren't going to go by yourself and I meant it. Even more now. I just have to figure out how to go with you." Frank shrugged his shoulders, "So what's the use of fighting about it?"

  "Am I the only one who thinks this whole thing is some kind of set up? How is it that the only people who know about the bacterium are conveniently locked up or otherwise distracted, not for a few days, but for years- think about it, years Frank. Yet when the scavenging teams finally reach that sector, only a few months ago, the only thing missing out of a very resource rich lab is that one strain? Not only that, but we happen to find out about the disease only weeks before the military is scheduled to start Cure sweeps of that area. How long has Dr. Pazzo sat on this information? Why did he only tell us now, right before his trial?"

  "I'm sure he wanted to find people he could trust. What else could he possibly gain from waiting?"

  "Maybe he was hoping to trade for leniency. Or maybe he just wants Dr. Schneider to get what he thinks she deserves. And now the trial will proceed without any prosecution of her, unless we find her, and fast. Or maybe, he's just making a desperate play for time and he thought saving it until the last minute would get you killed, causing a postponement until they could replace you." Nella saw something open up in Frank's face, like an idea flickering over his skin. She didn't like it. "It's a trap, Frank. I just don't know for sure who set it." She crossed her arms over her chest as if they were a shield.

  "Maybe," he said, and curled his arms around her, "If it is, I'll have you to protect me."

  "I was being serious."

  "So was I. Even scavengers don't go into Infected areas alone, and they are trained for this. It would be foolish if either of us tried to."

  They were quiet, standing in her tiny, sunny kitchen, wrapped in each other. She wished the day would stretch out, longer and longer, hold its breath. She wished they could freeze like a photograph because she couldn't see a brighter moment coming down the line. But Frank stepped back and let her go.

  "I have to go get my opening statement notes," he said, "I need to make some changes before Monday."

  "Are you coming back?" she asked, not certain what exactly she meant.

  Frank looked surprised. "I'd like to, Nella, but I've a lot to finish by tomorrow. Maybe it's better if I just pick you up in the morning," he looked nervous as he picked up his bag, "will you be angry?"

  Nella laughed and shook her head. He kissed her again in the doorway, the warm afternoon sliding down around them. "Next time I'm not sleeping on the couch," he said smiling. She closed the door slowly behind him, still floating like a dust mote in the golden sun.

  Court